Some 300 business establishments in Davao city have been blocked by the Business Bureau upon the recommendation of the City Tourism Operations Office (CTOO) for failing to comply with the requirements for the tourism licenses.
CTOO chief Generose Tecson said her office recommended refusal of the application of the said tourism and tourism-related establishments for failing to comply with the requirements of the CTOO. The permits of the said establishments expired last December 31, 2018 and were due for renewal this year.
“We were shocked to discover that they don’t go through the CTOO to get the list of the requirements for the tourism licenses,” Tecson said.
Prior to the period of renewal of business permits starting January 3, the CTOO coordinated with the business bureau to require tourism-catering establishments to comply with regulatory requirements.
Tecson said that there are 2,606 establishments in the city that are required to secure a tourism license. These are the tourism front-liner establishments such as tour operators, tourist transports, travel agencies, hotels, the accommodation sector, and tour guides; and tourism-related shops such as restaurants, souvenir shops and spa.
“The reason why we are very strict is because it is required by the tourism code,” Tecson said, adding that they are doing it “to re-assess if they need to pay or not for the tourism licenses”.
The city tourism chief said that some establishments were automatically charged with the licensing fees.
“We do not mean to bring inconvenience to the business applicants if only they had followed the requirements,” Tecson said.
